London:
After the launch of his new political party, All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), this week, Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf continues to attract global headlines.
India, has closely watched his recent statements on Kashmir, wherein he admitted to Pakistan training underground militant groups to operate in the Kashmir Valley. But today, speaking in London exclusively to NDTV, Musharraf said these groups - groups like the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) - were not raised during his tenure, but much earlier. (
Full transcript of interview)
While he denied the involvement of the security establishment in sending them across the Line of Control (LOC), he did concede that from Pakistan's point of view, the Lashkar was what he called a Mujahideen group, fighting for the rights of the Kashmiri people.
"From our point of view, LeT is fighting for the rights of Kashmiris and there is great public support in Pakistan for groups like the Lashkar-e-Toiba," said Musharraf.
Asked about how close India and Pakistan came during his Presidency, in signing onto Kashmir solution, he said, "We were as close as drafting a final pact for a solution. Final drafts were exchanged through the back channel and Manmohan Singh agreed with my four-point formula."